Exxon Mobil Corp. posted higher-than- expected profit as international sanctions against Russian interests clouded the U.S. oil explorer’s efforts to tap some of the world’s biggest crude reserves.
First-quarter net income was US$9.1-billion, or US$2.10 a share, compared with US$9.5-billion, or US$2.12, a year earlier, the Irving, Texas-based company said in a statement Thursday. Per-share profit exceeded all 20 estimates from analysts in a Bloomberg survey and surpassed the average by 22 cents.

Shrinking British oil company BP Plc announced quarterly profit down a fifth from a year ago, after it sold assets in preparation for what could be its biggest oil spill payout when the case comes to trial later this month.
BP, the last of the big four western world oil companies to report fourth quarter figures, still beat expectations because of one-off taxes related to its divestments and liability payments, and its shares rose nearly 2%.

BEIJING — Two of China’s major oil companies said on Wednesday that their profits slumped in the first half of 2015, as a sharp decline in international crude prices hit upstream earnings.
Sinopec Corp, Asia’s largest refiner, posted profits of 25.4 billion yuan (US$3.96 billion), down 22 per cent from 32.5 billion yuan a year earlier, the company said in a filing with the Hong Kong bourse.

Statoil ASA, Norway’s biggest energy company, said profit unexpectedly fell 2% in the second quarter hurt by falling oil and gas production and prices.
Adjusted net income fell to 11.3 billion kroner (US$1.9-billion) from 11.5 billion kroner a year earlier, the Stavanger- based company said today. That missed the 11.7 billion kroner average of 21 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Net income declined to 4.3 billion kroner from 26.4 billion kroner, while sales fell 26 percent to 148.3 billion kroner.